From China to Costa Rica, from Mali to Malaysia acclaimed singers and musicians, women and men, have come together to spread a message of unity and solidarity: We are "One Woman" http://youtu.be/Dnq2QeCvwpw International Womens Day 8 March is an incredibly amazing day. Woman's Day is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. Millions of people around the world come together celebrating achievement or fighting for justice.

I think there may be some confusion in the male mind about interacting with women. My life is enriched when I am interacting with women. My a priori assumption that men and women are created equal.

It took 900 years, but the canals of Venice, Italy have their first female Gondolier, Giorgia Boscolo, 23, and mother of two. “I’m immensely happy and proud but today my day starts like every other, taking the children to school,” she said. See this Video: http://youtu.be/wTQYocB5-84 . Women are using their education to participate more in the labor force: they now make up for 40 percent of the global labor force and 43 percent of its farmers. Women entrepreneurs, women business, political, academic and cultural leaders and women innovators. All these women have distinguis­hed themselves for courage, creativity­, persistenc­e and vision. Well-loved or notorious, they have all made their mark on history.

I think there "the future of our global economy and society." The real drivers will be women. This is the role women will play in transforming our global economy and society over the next decade. Women now control over $20 trillion dollars in spending worldwide. To put that into context -- that's an economic impact larger than the U.S., China and India economies combined. In the U.S., women-owned businesses account for nearly $4 trillion dollars in GDP. That's right: $4 trillion dollars in economic output. This alone constitutes the fourth-largest economy in the world. Only the U.S., Japan and China are larger today.

Despite the progress, gaps remain in many areas. Women are more likely to die relative to males in many low and middle-income countries than their counterparts in rich countries especially in childhood and during their reproductive years. Primary and secondary school enrollments for girls remain much lower than for boys in many Sub-Saharan African countries and some parts of South Asia, as well as among disadvantaged populations. Women are more likely than men to work as unpaid family laborers or in the informal sector, to farm smaller plots and grow less profi table crops, operate in smaller fi rms and less profi table sectors, and generally earn less. Women especially poor women have less say over decisions and less control over household resources. And in most countries, fewer women participate in formal politics than men and are underrepresented in the upper echelons.

Link to the original source http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/ "This year’s theme for International Women’s Day, “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women” seeks to strengthen international community’s commitment to put an end to violence against women. As part of the effort the UN leads to fight violence against women, Secretary-Generals Ban Ki-moon's UNiTE campaign calls on all governments, civil society, women’s organizations, men, young people, the private sector, the media and the entire UN system to join forces in addressing this global pandemic".

"UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet stresses that discrimination and violence against women and girls have no place in the 21st century. "Enough is enough", she says in a message of both outrage and hope that discrimination and violence must end".